philstar.com – Business – Page 48

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Market volatility to continue

General

Jan 242016

MANILA, Philippines – The local equities market is expected to experience continued volatility this week amid a slew of negative developments on the external front, said Astro del Castillo, managing director of First Grade Finance Inc. Jason Escartin of 2TradeAsia.com said investors would also be looking at the release of the country’s fourth quarter gross domestic product performance on Thursday. “It’s a wait and see for now,” he said. Escartin said with the country still considered as one of the fastest-growing economies in the region, better-than-expected results could douse off part of the pessimism, but there are no clear signals in place yet to cap the “global volatility overhang.” Escartin sees the index at 6,100 points, with secondary support at 6,000 and resistance at 6,300. As for external developments, Escartin said investors would also be looking at the US Federal Reserve’s next move. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “Investors will be anticipating the Fed’s stance on the recent spate of selloffs in global financial markets, especially to the extent the current macro picture impacts two critical factors: labor and inflation outlook. The key point of interest will be on the timing of the next rate hike. Any consideration to delay might be lauded and could encourage slight bargain hunting,” Escartin said. Another factor is the oil prices, which have been spiraling down the past weeks. After the International Energy Agency (IEA) raised the alert, the world could “drown in oversupply” as Iran re-enters the market, some Read More …

PLDT Home, Smart pioneer data sharing service in Philippines

Economy

Jan 092016

PLDT Home, Smart pioneer data sharing service in Philippines

MANILA, Philippines – PLDT and Smart Communications, the country’s leading telecommunications and digital services providers, have teamed up to offer the Philippines’ first data plan that enables subscribers to a home DSL service to share their data allocation with mobile phones of their family. Under its new Speedster Fam Plan 1299, PLDT Home DSL offers five times faster speeds of up to 10 megabits per second (Mbps) and a monthly data allocation of 50 gigabytes (GB). Moreover, subscribers who upgrade their Speedster Plan with a Smart mobile plan 399 or plan 600 can share six GB of the 50 GB monthly data allocation to their mobile phone lines which they can use even outside the home. Customers may get up to four Smart mobile phone lines bundled with their Speedster Fam Plan all conveniently billed under one subscription. PLDT and Smart EVP and Consumer Business Group head Ariel P. Fermin said this new service takes off from the Filipino value of sharing. “Sharing is at the core of every Filipino family. We share everything, from food to stories, and memories, and now, data connectivity,” he said. “Now, more than ever, the strongest connections truly begin at home. With this unrivaled and powerful convergence of the country’s number one broadband provider, PLDT Home; and the undisputed leader in mobile services, Smart, we are going beyond the home and enriching mobile experiences of our subscribers. It’s certainly not just about the shared gigabytes but we humanize technology by empowering our customers to Read More …

GMA dominates 2015 TV ratings

Economy

Jan 092016

MANILA, Philippines – Television giant GMA Network dominated nationwide TV ratings last year particularly in Urban Luzon and Mega Manila, a report by AGB Nielsen showed. Citing Nielsen’s 2015 National Urban Television Audience Measurement (NUTAM) report, GMA said it topped the daytime and prime-time slots. Urban Luzon continued to be a strong area for GMA as it registered 39.7 percent audience share, besting ABS-CBN’s 30.6 percent share and TV5’s 8.2 percent share. GMA also secured its dominant position in Mega Manila with its 41.7 percent audience share, up 14.7 points from ABS-CBN’s 27 percent and 33.2 points from TV5’s 8.5 percent. Urban Luzon accounts for 77 percent of all urban TV households in the country while Mega Manila comprises 59 percent. For December 2015 alone, GMA posted a stronger total day lead (38.9 percent) compared with ABS-CBN’s 33.6 percent and TV5’s 7.8 percent. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The report also showed that more viewers across the country tuned in to GMA during the Christmas break covering Dec. 24 to 31 as revealed by its 38.4 percent audience share, 5.9 points higher than ABS-CBN’s 32.5 percent. Since September last year, GMA has overtaken its closest rival ABS-CBN in NUTAM and sustained nationwide ratings leadership until yearend. Nielsen has a nationwide urban sample size of 2,000 homes while it has increased its sample size to 1,200 homes this year for Mega Manila. It has a total of 31 clients and subscribers including eight local TV networks, four Read More …

BSP trims losses to P4.4 B in 10 months books gains from forex swings

General

Jan 092016

BSP trims losses to P4.4 B in 10 months books gains from forex swings

MANILA, Philippines – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) trimmed its losses in the first 10 months of last year as it continued to book gains on foreign exchange fluctuations. According to official data on the BSP website, the central bank’s net losses amounted to P4.41 billion from January to October, 11.8 percent down from P5 billion the previous year. Revenues jumped 12.9 percent to P447.87 billion from P42.39 billion, while expenses rose 5.2 percent to P59.9 billion from P56.92 billion. The BSP booked gains on foreign exchange fluctuations amounting to P7.63 billion during the period, although a fifth lower compared with P9.54 billion in 2014. Gains or losses from fluctuations in foreign exchange rates are recorded from matured, sold, paid and/or exchanged or settled foreign exchange assets and liabilities. Broken down, bulk of revenues came from interest earnings, which rose 17.7 percent to P32.08 billion. Meanwhile, miscellaneous income from reduced trading gains from domestic and foreign currency securities reached 15.79 billion, up 4.2 percent. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 On expenditures, interest expense on loans and other foreign currency deposits, including cost of minting or printing of currencies increased 6.6 percent to P40.75 billion in the first 10 months last year. The BSP’s primary objective is to promote price and financial stability conducive to balanced and sustainable economic growth. It also seeks to maintain monetary stability and the convertibility of the peso by performing a wide range of functions involving money, banking and Read More …

More automakers seen switching to e-vehicles

Economy

Jan 092016

More automakers seen switching to e-vehicles

MANILA, Philippines – The Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines (EVAP) said the move towards the use of environment-friendly vehicles is running at full speed globally as more electric vehicles are set be introduced this year. “Finally, the big names in the auto industry are joining the electric vehicle bandwagon. Mainstream auto manufacturers are now betting big on electric vehicles as climate change mitigation is becoming a priority agenda among developed nations after the Paris Summit where several major countries agreed on a reduction in global temperature by two degrees,” EVAP said. According to EVAP, several major automotive companies are finally launching their electric cars to the public for sale and not just for lease as in the past. These include the Tesla Model S, BMW X5 eDrive, BMW Series 3 Plug In, VW Passat GTE Plug in, Audi A3 E-tron, Audi Q7 Plug In, Chevy Volt 2.0, Volvo XC90 T8, Volvo S60 Plug In, Mercedes Benz GLE, E and C class Plug in, Mitsubishi Outlander Plug In, BYD Tang and Rimac Concept One. “It is understandable that big manufacturers will be quite slow on the uptake since they have already invested heavily in the old internal combustion engines technology which has not drastically changed during the last 100 years. It is now common knowledge that electric vehicles are more economical to operate since electricity worldwide is cheaper than petroleum products and EVs are virtually almost maintenance free,” the EVAP said.

Oil firms to roll back diesel, hike gas prices on Tuesday

Economy

Jan 042016

Oil firms to roll back diesel, hike gas prices on Tuesday

Six oil companies will implement price adjustment on diesel, kerosene and gasoline effective Tuesday morning. File photo MANILA, Philippines – Six oil companies on Monday announced that they are cutting diesel prices and will increase gas prices on Tuesday. PTT Ph, Phoenix Petroleum, Eastern petroleum Flying V, Shell and Petron will reduce its diesel price by P0.15 per liter and increase its gasoline price by P0.10 per liter. On the other hand, Flying V, Shell and Petron will also decrease the prices of kerosene by P0.25 per liter. Flying V will be the first to apply the price change at 12:01 a.m., January 5, Tuesday, while the five oil firms will implement the price change at 6 a.m. The coming adjustment of fuel prices is the first in 2016 as the last price cut was announced before the New Year, last Dec. 28, 2015, where gasoline prices were slashed by P.60 per liter and diesel by P.20 per liter due to the downward movement of oil prices in the world market. There was also a rollback on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) last January 1.

ERC reviewing new capacity, market share limitations

Economy

Jan 032016

ERC reviewing new capacity, market share limitations

MANILA, Philippines – The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is reviewing new capacity and market share limitations (MSL) for generation companies to ensure competitiveness in the electric power industry. The power regulator is coming up with a new study for the updated capacity threshold, ERC chairman Jose Vicente Salazar said. The study is still ongoing. We are discussing with PEMC (Philippine Electricity Market Corp.) and GMC (Grid Management Committee),” he said. PEMC is the operator of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market, while GMC gives advice on the country’s power grid. Salazar said PEMC and GMC would be given until the third week of January to submit reports on the market share limitations. “We’re going to impose on the second or third week of January a deadline for their reports so we can compare this two decisions and determine how we’re going to move forward,” he said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 In December, PEMC had informed the power regulator it already has a preliminary position. Meanwhile, GMC is in the process of preparing a report. Under RA 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA), the ERC is to set the MSL annually to prevent a person, company, related group or independent power producer administrator (IPPA), singly or in combination, to own, operate, or control more than 30 percent of the IGC of a grid, and/or 25 percent of the national IGC. For 2015, the ERC updated the limit to 3,917.32 megawatts from 3,612.42 Read More …

Government agencies now hold 90% of their budgets – DBM

Economy

Jan 032016

Government agencies now hold 90% of their budgets – DBM

MANILA, Philippines – State agencies are now holding roughly P1.5 trillion of their respective budgets, handed out to them automatically when the 2016 national outlay took effect last Friday. “With the GAA-as-release-document, it means that 90 percent of the budget of agencies can immediately be obligated without waiting for the DBM to issue allotments,” Budget Secretary Florencio Abad told The STAR. According to data from the Department of Budget and Management, departmental budgets under the General Appropriations Act (GAA) amounted to P1.66 trillion. Departmental budgets accounted for 55 percent of the total P3-trillion outlay signed by President Aquino last Dec. 22. Budget released means agencies are now free to incur obligations by contracting products and services. Once obligated, agencies would still need to secure notices of cash allocation (NCA) from the DBM. NCAs, in turn, are given to the Bureau of the Treasury, which issues checks to pay for government services. Once encashed and paid to contractors, the amount is deemed disbursed. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “The introduction of the GAA-as-release-document us-hered in a budget regime in which the GAA is the primary fund release document,” Abad. “That is, agency budgets are practically released the moment the national budget is enacted,” he added. According to the GAA or RA 10717, the 10 agencies with the largest allocations were the departments of education (P437 billion), public works and highways (P400 billion), national defense (P175 billion), interior and local government (P154 billion), health (P128 billion), social welfare Read More …

Aboitiz Power unit seals 2 yr supply deal

General

Jan 032016

Aboitiz Power unit seals 2 yr supply deal

MANILA, Philippines – A unit of Aboitiz Power Corp. has forged a two-year supply agreement with the Cotabato Light and Power Co. Inc. (CLPC). In a joint application with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), Therma Marine Inc. (TMI) and CLPC are seeking regulatory approval of their energy supply agreement (ESA) including all the rates, fees and charges set out therein. Under the agreement, TMI will supply and deliver one megawatt to CLPC for two years not later than Dec. 25, 2017. TMI and CLPC cited the continuing tight supply in the Mindanao grid, with the latter implementing rotational brownouts. “The ESA with TMI is indispensable to immediately narrow the power supply gap that CLPC requires in order to minimize the power outages in its franchise area,” the joint application said. CLPC distributes power to the end-users in the city of Cotabato and portions of the municipalities of Sultan Kudarat and Datu Odin Sinsuat, all in the province of Maguindanao. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The power distributor undertook competitive selection process (CSP) pending the renewal of contract for supply of electricity energy (CSEE) with the National Power Corp. TMI was one of the power generators that bagged an ESA, along with Western Mindanao Power Corp. If approved, customers of CLPC will see an additional generation charge of P0.1988 per kilowatt-hour in their monthly bills. “The approvals sought, provisional and final, will ultimately redound to the benefit of the customers of CLPC in terms of continuous, reliable, Read More …

Procurements, permits process slow Yolanda housing developments

Economy

Jan 012016

Procurements, permits process slow Yolanda housing developments

Last April, President Aquino transferred the coordination, monitoring, and evaluation of all disaster-related programs projects and activities (PPAs) from the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery to NEDA.Marcelino Pascua/PCOO MANILA, Philippines – More than two years after the massive destruction brought by Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), only 13,335 housing units have been completed, with construction of 79,219 houses ongoing and scheduled for completion by December 2016. In a report released by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), it attributed the slow pace of building resettlement sites to policies on procurement and land acquisition and the many required permits and clearances needed to start certain projects. “NEDA is intensively coordinating efforts to address these policy and implementation issues with the concerned agencies,” Arsenio M. Balisacan, Economic Planning Secretary and NEDA director general, said. Last April, President Aquino transferred the coordination, monitoring, and evaluation of all disaster-related programs projects and activities (PPAs) from the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery to NEDA. Balisacan noted that resettlement of the survivors from the danger zones remains the most challenging among the recovery efforts. “Nevertheless, the Philippine government – working closely with its development partners, the private sector and non-governmental organizations – continues to see steady progress in the Yolanda recovery and rehabilitation efforts,” he said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The overall weighted physical accomplishment (OWPA) of completed and ongoing Yolanda PPAs now stands at 63.2 percent – or 30.3 percent completed and 33.1 Read More …

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